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Purpose: For many people living in low-income countries, poverty implies an increased exposure to conditions that threaten health and wellbeing as well as reduced capacity to maintain health. Despite the challenging conditions caused by poverty, people may consider themselves healthy because they have learned to cope with their situation probably as a result of life experiences which expose people to both challenges and potential solutions. In this paper we present results from studying health and wellbeing challenges and mechanisms to cope with challenges among two different groups of people who are living under conditions of poverty: workers of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) and students of the university of Buea and the university of Yaoundé. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study, interviewing 21 CDC workers and 21 students. Results Our study reveals context-specific stressors emerging from poor work conditions and study pressure as well as non-context-specific stressors perceived by respondents as living conditions, poor healthcare and financial uncertainty. Respondents devised coping mechanisms to overcome exactly those stressors such as searching for additional money sources, preventive action towards hazardous living conditions and alternative medical support. Conclusion: We conclude that supporting and promoting such avenues is essential for enhanced and continuous coping with stressors.

Poverty-related diseases (PRDs) assume poverty as a determinant in catching disease and an obstacle for cure and recovery. In Cameroon, over 48 % of the population lives below the poverty line. This dissertation starts from the premise that the relation between poverty and disease is mediated by a person’s capacity to cope with the challenges posed by the natural and social environment. The central problem addressed is that in (inter)national health promotion, disease eradication is overemphasized whereas strengthening the capacity of people to cope with harsh conditions is disregarded. Research efforts show a similar division in emphasis, resulting in a limited understanding of the way people deal with health challenges in conditions of poverty. This dissertation is based on the salutogenic model of health that emphasizes the combined effects of (natural) disease conditions, mental conditions and social factors as determinants of health. This implies an emphasis on health as a positive strategy to deal with stressors and also an emphasis on the agency of people to respond to challenges that hamper their health and wellbeing. The study is carried out among two different groups of people in Cameroon. These are workers including dependants of workers of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) and students from the universities of Buea and Yaoundé. The overall aim of this dissertation is to understand how conditions of poverty impact the health of people and how they manage these challenges. Specifically, the study aims to unravel the interlinkages between poverty and health by creating a deeper understanding of the social and material dynamics which enable people’s capacity to preserve health, anticipate health risks, and mitigate or recover from stressors such as PRDs. The main research question addressed is: What factors underlie the maintenance of good health and overcoming stressors in the face of PRDs in Cameroon? Different research methods were used to collec

Background: In Cameroon, poverty-related diseases (PRDs) are a major public health concern. Research and policies addressing PRDs are based on a particular understanding of the interaction between poverty and disease, usually an association between poverty indicators and health indicators for a specific country or region. Such indicators are useful but fail to explain the nature of the linkages between poverty and disease or poverty and health. This paper presents results of a study among university students, unravelling how they perceive diseases, the linkages with poverty, their responses to diseases and the motivations behind reported responses. Based on the health belief model, this cross-sectional study was carried out among 272 students at the universities of Buea and Yaoundé in Cameroon. Data were collected using questionnaires containing items matching the research objectives. The questionnaires were self-completed. Results: Malaria was considered as the most common disease perceived and also a major PRD. Contrary to official rankings of HIV/AIDS and TB, cholera and diarrhoea were considered as other major PRDs. Also, typhoid fever was perceived to be more common and a PRD than HIV/AIDS and TB combined. The most prominently attributed cause for disease was (lack of) hygiene. In response, students deployed formal and/or informal healthcare strategies, depending on factors like available money, perceived severity of the disease and disease type. Discrepancies were observed in respondents' response to diseases generally and to malaria in particular. Even though, overall, respondents pre-dominantly reported a formal healthcare response toward diseases in general, for malaria, informal responses dominated. There was an overall strong awareness and (pro)activity among students for dealing with diseases. Conclusions: Although the high use of informal facilities and medication for malaria may well be a reason why eradication is problematic, this seems to be a delibe

Creating better access to good quality healthcare for the poor is a major challenge to development. In this study, we examined inter-linkages between poverty and disease, referred to as poverty-related diseases (PRDs), by investigating how Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) camp dwellers respond to diseases that adversely affect their health and wellbeing. Living in plantation camps is associated with poverty, overcrowding, poor sanitation and the rapid spread of diseases. In a survey of 237 CDC camp dwellers in Cameroon, we used the health belief model to understand the drivers (perceived threats, benefits and cues for treatment seeking) of reported responses. Using logistic regression analysis, we looked for trends in people’s response to malaria. We calculated the odds ratio of factors shown to have an influence on people’s health, such as food, water, sanitation challenges and seeking formal healthcare for malaria. Malaria (40.3%), cholera (20.8%) and diarrhoea (17.7%) were the major PRDs perceived by camp dwellers. We found a strong link between what respondents perceived as PRDS and hygiene conditions. Poverty for our respondents was more about living in poor hygiene conditions than lack of money. Respondents perceived health challenges as stemming from their immediate living environment. Moreover, people employed self-medication and other informal health practices to seek healthcare. Interestingly, even though respondents reported using formal healthcare services as a general response to illness (84%), almost 90% stated that, in the case of malaria, they would use informal healthcare services. Our study recommends that efforts to curb the devastating effects of PRDs should have a strong focus on perceptions (i.e. include diseases that people living in conditions of poverty perceive as PRDs) and on hygiene practices, emphasising how they can be improved. By providing insights into the inter-linkages between poverty and disease, our study offers relevant gu

Aims: To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding transmission, prevention and treatment of malaria in four rural settings and one urban neighborhood. Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive survey carried out in Cameroon. Place and Duration of Study: This study took place in rural Mbonge division (Pete, Marumba-1, Marumba-2, and Bai Manya) and one neighbourhood in a urban town (Kumba), South West region of Cameroon between May and July 2015. Methodology: 227 participants (118 males and 109 females) took part in this study. Information was collected with a pre-tested questionnaire with mostly closed-ended questions and a few open-ended questions. Questions focused on socio-demographic parameters, knowledge attitudes and practices with respect to malaria. Data was analysed using SPSS Statistics version 22 (SPSS Inc. IBM). p values <0.05 were considered significant. Results: 118(52%) males and 109(48.0%) females were part of this study. Malaria was listed as the most common disease in all the settings without exception. In the rural settings, respondents related transmission of malaria to mosquito as follows: 53.3% in Pete, 70.7% in Marumba-2, 53.3% in Marumba-1, 65% in Bai Manya. In the urban setting, Kumba, 85.4% of respondents said malaria was caused by a mosquito bite. Other factors listed as ways in which malaria was transmitted include: using the same cup, dirtiness, dirty water, through drugs, bad environment, wind, sun and red fly. Mosquito nets were predominantly used for malaria prevention. These were obtained mostly as government donations. Respondents sought formal help mostly after 48 hours from onset of symptoms. Self-medication was commonly practiced irrespective of setting. Conclusion: This study has shown that participants in Mbonge sub-division and Buea-road Kumba have gaps in knowledge about malaria transmission, prevention and treatment. There is a need for tailored health-education intervention building on formal and local knowledge t